IG: N/Assembly invasion was unintended

According to the IG, the operation said was rather a response to the previous day’s blockading of Police Force Headquarters “by some executive members of a leading political party,” APC. He said when a political leader led his party members including a state governor to lay siege at Force Headquarters, the police allowed them to […]

According to the IG, the operation said was rather a response to the previous day’s blockading of Police Force Headquarters “by some executive members of a leading political party,” APC. He said when a political leader led his party members including a state governor to lay siege at Force Headquarters, the police allowed them to do so and did not try to remove them. He said the incident at the National Assembly, which took place the next day, was a direct result of the previous day’s episode but he did not elaborate. The police said at the time that they had security reports that hoodlums were about to invade the National Assembly Complex.
Challenged by the audience to explain how his assurances of police neutrality in politics squared with that episode, Abba said the outcome of ongoing investigations would reveal if there were excesses and errors in the police response. He said, “On the National Assembly incident, when incidents happen, they get investigated, lessons are learnt, officers are corrected, and where necessary, sanctions are made. The NASS incident was not intended.
“If the previous day (November 20) a leader of a leading political party in the country could lead members of his exco and a serving governor among others to lock the gate of the Nigeria Police Headquarters without being challenged, without tear-gas exploding, without being harassed, what happened the following day at the National Assembly was not premeditated. If there were excesses and errors in our response we (should) let the reports of the various investigations being carried out to come out.”
The Inspector General did not speak on his subsequent faceoff with House of Representatives police affairs committee members, when he refused to recognize Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal as House Speaker due to the latter’s defection from the ruling PDP to APC. The IG earlier said the police have produced a pocket book to guide its men to remain fair and neutral during the upcoming elections. He also reiterated that any police officer who commits excesses will be held responsible.